Language Centre
Strengthening Partnerships in Kosovo: New Opportunities for ISEE and Beyond
ISEE, which began in 2014, brings students from partner universities together in an international online exchange combining intercultural communication, language learning and social entrepreneurship. Over the past 12 years, the project has connected students from H-BRS with partner universities in Jordan, China, Japan and, since 2025, Kosovo.
Beyond the ISEE partnership
Beyond the existing ISEE partnership, Eileen Küpper also met with colleagues from the Language Centre and the Department of Journalism to explore opportunities for additional academic collaboration. These discussions highlighted the potential to extend the partnership into new areas and create further opportunities for students and staff to engage across borders.
A meeting with Lindita Sejdiu, Coordinator of the Language Centre at the University of Prishtina, focused in particular on potential cooperation in the area of language testing. The discussions explored possible ways for the two Language Centres to exchange expertise and identify opportunities for future collaboration in language assessment and testing.
Bringing Kosovo's media perspective to H-BRS
One promising idea to emerge from the visit is a second online guest talk by Vice Dean Remzie Sahini-Hoxhaj, who gave an online guest lecture to H-BRS journalism students last year on Kosovo's media landscape, within the framework of Ms Küppers Media & Culture class. During the visit, the partners discussed the possibility of her returning virtually in the coming semester to continue the exchange with H-BRS students.
Such an exchange would give journalism students the opportunity to engage directly with a media scholar from Kosovo and gain a deeper understanding of the country's media landscape, journalism and the wider media environment in the Western Balkans. It would also complement their academic studies with an international perspective and encourage dialogue about the similarities and differences between media systems in Europe.
Exploring European identity
The meetings in Prishtina also generated ideas for new collaborative projects beyond ISEE. One particularly promising idea is an initiative that would bring students from H-BRS and the University of Prishtina together to explore questions of European identity.
Such a project could invite students to consider what it means to be European from different national, cultural and generational perspectives, while creating space for dialogue about shared values, experiences and expectations. It would complement the intercultural focus of ISEE while opening up a new thematic area for collaboration.
Erasmus+ mobility: strengthening partnerships through personal exchange
The visit was funded through the Erasmus+ mobility programme, which supports international mobility not only for students but also for university staff. Staff mobility provides an important opportunity to meet colleagues face-to-face, develop institutional partnerships and identify new opportunities for teaching, learning and joint projects.
A special thank you goes to the H-BRS and UP International Offices and especially to Sally Brammer & Afërdita Rexhepi for their support in making this Erasmus+ mobility possible and for helping to strengthen our international partnerships.
The visit to Prishtina demonstrated the value of this personal exchange. Conversations that began around the existing ISEE partnership quickly developed into discussions about new guest lectures, student projects and broader academic and European cooperation.
As ISEE celebrates its 12th anniversary in 2026, the visit marks another step in the development of a partnership that continues to grow both geographically and academically. With new ideas emerging from the discussions in Prishtina, the collaboration between H-BRS and the University of Prishtina has the potential to reach well beyond the original framework of ISEE, creating new opportunities for students and staff to learn, exchange ideas and build connections across Europe.
Contact
Eileen Küpper
M.Sc., Lecturer in English and Intercultural Communication, Coordinator of the English programme (Department of Management Sciences)
Location
Rheinbach
Room
A 156
Address
von-Liebig-Straße 20
53359 Rheinbach
Contact hours
wednesdays, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (only during the lecture, by phone): by appointment (to be arranged by email or phone)
Telephone
+49 2241 865 765